More Than Bread

Send me a Text Message!I'm taking a bit of a break as a reward for 100k downloads and as a pause during my vacation. But during this week+ break, I'm reposting some Psalms that I've chosen, specifically to hit some themes of our current series, "A Life of Prayer." The themes include scripture, prayer, trusting God, and thriving. If you are anything like me, reading the book of James brings some stuff to the surface of my heart that brings conviction of my mess. Psalm 51 takes us into the heart of a deeply personal prayer of confession and repentance. It's a prayer prayed by David when he was caught in sin. David's heart was pierced with conviction and burdened by guilt and Psalm 51 is a heartfelt response to  that sin. It's a raw and vulnerable cry for mercy. David doesn't justify or minimize what he did, he simply lays his soul bare before God. 

Send me a Text Message!I'm taking a bit of a break as a reward for 100k downloads and as a pause during my vacation. But during this week+ break, I'm reposting some Psalms that I've chosen, specifically to hit some themes of our current series, "A Life of Prayer." The themes include scripture, prayer, trusting God, and thriving. So we are looking again at Psalm 37; too much for one episode and a great principle from James that we see here as well. God wants to give us the land...but the land is for the meek. Meek? Do you remember that word? Receive the implanted word with meekness! Anyone looking for a little more meekness in their life? Meek isn't weak, it's strength under control. Let's go for meek!

Send me a Text Message!I'm taking a bit of a break as a reward for 100k downloads and as a pause during my vacation. But during this week+ break, I'm reposting some Psalms that I've chosen, specifically to hit some themes of our current series, "A Life of Prayer." The themes include scripture, prayer, trusting God, and thriving. Psalm contains one of my favorite verses. Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." There are so many good things in Psalm 37, but in this episode, we're going to focus on a few practical experiments that could help us "delight in God." Perhaps that's the essence of a life of prayer?

Send me a Text Message!I'm taking a bit of a break as a reward for 100k downloads and as a pause during my vacation. But during this week+ break, I'm reposting some Psalms that I've chosen, specifically to hit some themes of our current series, "A Life of Prayer." The themes include scripture, prayer, trusting God, and thriving. One thing I love about the writers of the psalms is that they bring their real self to the game. They don't try to hide the pain or the doubt. They don't sanitize the language. They bring their real self. Psalm 5 is a prayer of lament. It's a good Psalm for times when we are scattered and trying to "consider it joy" when the hard stuff comes. 

Send me a Text Message!I'm taking a bit of a break as a reward for 100k downloads and as a pause during my vacation. But during this week+ break, I'm reposting some Psalms that I've chosen, specifically to hit some themes of our current series, "A Life of Prayer." The themes include scripture, prayer, trusting God, and thriving. In Psalm 1 word that I cannot escape in Psalm 1 is the word "blessing." Psalm 1 is a description of the blessed life, the way of blessing, like a tree planted by the streams, roots deep, full of fruit, thriving. We'll take some time in this episode and ponder the path of blessing as it's described in Psalm 1!

Send me a Text Message!Over and over again in the last part of James 2, we hear something like, "faith without works is dead." Faith that does not lead to action is useless. Faith is as faith does and if it doesn't, it probably isn't. I think what James is trying to say is that we can trust God, the real question is "Can He trust us." The question that we so frequently ask God, perhaps He is asking us, "Can I trust you?"James 2:14-26 gives us both a diagnostic for the condition of our faith and a few CPR practices to revive it! So, how about a little CPR for your faith?

Send me a Text Message!"Love your neighbor like you love yourself." Paul, James and Jesus all echo that challenge, that way of life. "Let the way that you love yourself set the standard for the way that you love your neighbor." In other words, ask yourself, What if my neighbor was me? How would I treat me? If I could wrap my neighbor in my skin and he was me, how much wld I love me? So that all the happiness that I seek for myself I would seek for my neighbor. What I seek for my kids, I would seek for your kids. The patience I have with my own mistakes would be extended to you. The mercy I desire for myself, I would give to my neighbor, because mercy beats judgement every day! 

Send me a Text Message!Did you know that there's a royal law in the Bible? James calls it the royal law of love. Love your neighbor as you love yourself; the royal law. The Bible makes it incredibly clear that nothing matters more than relationships--nothing--first with God and second with people. In fact that very royal love, "Love your neighbor as yourself" is so stuck in the heart of God that it gets repeated in the Bible not once, but nine different times. In fact, the Bible seems to suggest that if I am a success in every other area of life except relationships, I am a failure. The higher calling of God always starts with the heart. Time and again in the Bible we see that before God releases a dream, He always shapes a heart. Do you want a love that soars? That's what He's dreaming of for you.

Send me a Text Message!I can't get away from James' words, "God has chosen the poor to be rich in faith." It reminds me of Jesus' words in the Beatitudes, "Blessed are the poor in Spirit." Blessed are the broken, the desperate. Blessed are those standing without pretense before God, stripped of all self-sufficiency, self-security, and self-righteousness. That's not easy for us to hear. Can I be honest? Growing up my  heroes were not the poor and desperate. It wouldn't be far from true to say that I've spend the better part of my life running from brokenness, not chasing poverty.God has chosen the poor...and I just have to ask, "What's so good about being poor?"  

Send me a Text Message!Remember elementary school and choosing teams? Does this still happen today? What a nerve wracking deal. This week the NBA draft has been occuring. Teams spend millions of dollars to get the right person. And if you are chosen, what does that mean? It means you matter; you have value; want you on our team. You don't have to be in the NBA or elementary school.  Life's ups and downs can still be mapped by those moments of choosing.  Did you get chosen for the job or for the school?  Did they choose your grant proposal?  Did she say yes to your invitation?  Isn't every wedding day all about being chosen? A ring says I choose you.  I love you above all others.  I want to live with you for the rest of my life.  I choose.So I've been pondering these words from James chapter 2, "Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world?" And it makes me wonder, "Would God choose me for His team?"

Send me a Text Message!I love the way James hooks me with his statements. I don't know if he has such a way with words or if it's just the Spirit of God planting the seed in my soul. But from "Consider it pure joy with troubles come your way" to "Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger" to "God has chosen the poor of the world to be rich in faith" and know it's his definition of real religion. Real religion is caring for orphans and widows in trouble and keeping yourself uncorrupted  Caring for orphans and widows...and refusing to be corrupted by the world.  In our culture, those two challenges go hand in hand. Real religion is more than sitting in a church building, listening to the people sing or a pastor preach. It's making a difference in the lives of people in need. Are you looking for some real religion?

Send me a Text Message!In the last episode I said that James is really describing a life of trust in his letter to those who are scattered. A life of trust listens to, learns from and leans into the word of God, and a life trust not only breathes in those words, but also breathes out in prayer. So where is God asking you to respond, to trust him today? Over thecourse of the centuries you can hear this man James saying; "It will be worth it if you get to the point where you can hear God's voice and trust God's Word.  Hear and Do. Listen, learn and lean.We keep asking if we trust God, but maybe He's asking, "Can I trust you?"

Send me a Text Message!My goal through this podcast and my prayer for all of us is that we would be drawn to the Words of God, that we would develop a hunger to hang out with Jesus and listen to the whisper of His spirit through our hearts and out our ears.  My goal is that we would go to this book (the Bible) again and again in search of gold.  That our incentive would be the precious treasure of God-birthed healing in our hearts, inspiring our minds, and renewing our spirits. But my concern is that sometimes we treat the Words of God like a common worthless penny. We'll take it if somebody gives it to us, but don't expect me to dig for it. But what if one of God's greatest gifts are the Words He speaks?

Send me a Text Message!Sometimes we get scattered and distracted, we walk through difficult paths in life, in part, because we didn't have a good guide to life. Or maybe you had no guide; no one to show you the sights in the daylight; how to journey to all the good parts and through the hard parts. But here's what I think James might say to us today, “You have a Father, a Father in heaven who knows the way to a life that thrives, even in the scattered times. Follow him. So the question for this episode in a life of prayer is simply, "Do you know your Dad?" I'm talking now about your heavenly Dad. When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray he said, "Ok, when you pray...say Father."  

Send me a Text Message!One of the questions that comes up frequently in regards to prayer is simply, "Does prayer matter?" I often receive some version of that question in relationship to unanswered prayer. Every death, every war, every cancer, every season of depression, every divorce stands as a monument to unanswered prayer. And so we hear the question in our hearts, "Does prayer matter?" I believe with all my heart that prayer is at the heart of our relationship with God and asking is at the heart of our prayers. But the bottom line is that few things motivate me to pray like answers to prayer.So here's the question for this episode, "Are there any prayers that God always answers?"

Send me a Text Message!In this episode, we will ponder for a few moments how our lives can make an impact and leave a legacy. An impact is what we make while we're still living. A legacy is what that impact leaves behind when we are gone. Remember Hebrews 12:4, we read that one a few times in this series, it says, "Let us run with perseverance the race that is marked out for us, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.” In other words, you have a particular race, a way that God is shaping you to make an impact and leave a legacy. But there are some common principles for running that race to make an impact and leave a legacy. So we are going to look at Jesus' unique race to help us learn how to make an impact and leave a legacy...and what that has to do with a life of prayer.

Send me a Text Message!James says that you are a kind of first-fruits of God's creative work. His work in you, in the midst of the trouble, His work in you is a first-fruit of His creative work. Think about that for a moment. You are a first-fruit. You're not a remnant; you're His firstfruits. What do I mean by that? Sometimes in scattering times. When  persecution comes and following Jesus is hard, we start thinking I'm all that's left. All that's left is a remnant. It's a mindset that says, I have to hang on to what I got with all I got. Because I'm all that's left. But listen, you're not all that's left, you are the first of what's to come. You're not the ending, you're the beginning. What God is doing in you, He going to multiply through you.And what He's doing in you is writing a story of overflowing joy!

Send me a Text Message!We will miss the thriving life God has for us if we believe that the best way to find life is to avoid suffering at all costs. Isn't that James message in the first words of his letter to the scattered? See I wonder, if the question that people in  James' day were wrestling with was the same question we ask in hard times? Is God  good? Can I trust Him? If I say yes to God, is He going to mess up my life or give me life? And then we hear James says, “Count it pure joy when you run into trials and troubles." Welcome problems like a friend. Why in the world would we do this?  We would only do it if indeed hard times bring the good life.

Send me a Text Message!The bible talks so much about joy. It's all over Jesus' words just before the cross, in John 14-17. He talks about bringing joy as part of his overall purpose. Paul talks a lot about joy. And James leads with it in his letter to those who are scattered. It's almost like, joy is at the heart of God's plan for his people, his family. When James writes, "consider it pure joy when you face trials," it's almost like joy is in the non-optional category. It's almost like joy is a command. And if joy is a command, do you know what that means? It means joy must be a choice.Does it bother you a bit, when I say, "we can choose joy?" Regardless of our circumstances, our setting, our hard times, can I choose joy? 

Send me a Text Message!If I told you there was a way to experience pure joy, 100% pure joy, would you believe me? Would you ask me to show you the way? In 35 years of ministry, one of the most significant convictions, I've gained is that we have a deep, deep need forpure joy. The corollary conviction I've developed is that there is very little relationship between the circumstances of our lives and the joy of our souls. Avoiding suffering at all costs does not bring pure joy. Getting everything I want, when I want it does not create great overflowing resevoirs of joy. Comfort and control are not the source of glorious joy.So how do we find pure joy? That's what this episode starts discussing.

Send me a Text Message!I will explain in the next episode, but #10 and ( the first) #11 were one and the same deal. This is the real #11. Sorry! :)==================================The book of James is written, "To the Scattered..." They aren't just scattered from home, they're scattered from each other, and scattered from God. They've lost their way. There's sin in the camp, the rich are avoiding and even abusing the poor,there is little supernatural wonder, the word is not being received with meekness. They are judgmental and they've lost their passion for prayer.  They've lost their way. They are scattered. Maybe you feel scattered. Something has driven you off course. You've lost your way. This episode introduces who James is writing to... he's writing to the scattered!

Send me a Text Message!The book of James is written, "To the Scattered..." They aren't just scattered from home, they're scattered from each other, and scattered from God. They've lost their way. There's sin in the camp, the rich are avoiding and even abusing the poor,there is little supernatural wonder, the word is not being received with meekness. They are judgmental and they've lost their passion for prayer.  They've lost their way. They are scattered. Maybe you feel scattered. Something has driven you off course. You've lost your way. This episode introduces who James is writing to... he's writing to the scattered!

Send me a Text Message!As we dive into the book of James, let's start by asking, "What do you know about James?" The author of the book of James was James the brother of Jesus. So ask yourself, "What would it have been like to grow up as the brother of Jesus? How many times did James hear, "James why can't you just be a little more like your brother? Jesus never lies. Jesus always makes his bed. C'mon James, just ask yourself, wwybd. (What would your brother do?).James didn't even believe in Jesus until after Jesus' resurrection. But somewhere along the way, he became a man of prayer, a leader in the church, and someone with an amazing heart. This episode is all about James.

Send me a Text Message!What if God brough you to this episode, just so He can say one thing to you: "Don't quit! Don't give up! I'm not done yet." Your story isn't finished, because Jesus is the author of your by-faith story and He's not done yet! Let me ask you, will you let Jesus author your story? I love these words from Pete Greig"Even now, this Gallilean calls us by name to leave our nets, abandon small dreams of token empires, and follow him into the great unknown.  His vision for our lives is a treasure worth everything we own -- worth living for and dying for.  It's the vision for which we were born: created by God as a gift of love to his broken, beautiful world."Don't give up. He's not done yet!

Send me a Text Message!I used to say that the greatest opportunities we have for spiritual growth are to either go on a short-term mission trip, or go through a time of suffering. Which is a great advertisment for mission trips! Who wants to schedule in some suffering? But in the last 7+ years, I've added to those two, a third opportunity for catalytic spiritual growth; times of transition. I've found over and over again, that times of  transition are times when our faith can enter new seasons of growth. And what is it about mission trips, suffering and transitions that bring us to new seasons of faith? I think it's the uncertainty, the reminder that our control is merely a facade. So what if, when it comes to faith, uncertainty is actually your friend? 

Send me a Text Message!You see here's the deal...if you want to walk on the water, you have to get out of the boat. And here's what I can't get out of my mind; what I'm thinking is that I want your life to be filled with unforgettable walks.  I want your life to count, to mean something, to be significant. I want it to lead to something beyond fun, friends, a career, or even family. All those are good, great even, but I'm praying that you have some water-walking moments. I don't want you to settle for life in the boat. And what's your boat? That's what we'll talk about in this episode as I lay out four  four steps to an unforgettable walk!

Send me a Text Message!In this episode we are going to use the words of Jesus about prayer, the kind of prayer that matters, that gets answered... to ponder four essentials for prayer. We'll use the acronym PUSH to help us remember them.Pursue JesusUnderstand GraceSet a PlanHold FastDiving into this four prayer essentials will help us pray until something happens!

Send me a Text Message!Where do you need a break-through to greater things that will cause your life to thrive? Where do you need to shine a spotlight on the courage and compassion and the power and glory of Jesus; Jesus the Redeemer, the Restorer, the Lover of our Souls. If we don't pray like prayer is essential, it's because our hearts have not been grabbed by desperation for things that matter to us. But when desperation for things that matter grabs our hearts, we will pray like prayer is essential. We will pray like prayer matters. We will pray until something happens. We will PUSH in prayer. 

Send me a Text Message!This episode will be a bit different. Mostly scripture, less explanation. In the last episode we started unpacking the acronym PUSH; "Pray until something happens." If there is a passage filled with the words of Jesus calling us to persevere in prayer, to push when times are tough, it's gotta be the words that Jesus spoke to his followers just before he went to the cross. So I'm going to read those words, and make a comment or two. But mostly just read His words. So put yourself there, even now. You don't know it, but you are a handful of hours away from the crucifixion of Jesus. You are walking with him in the evening hours, through a vineyard, sort of a public park, and He is giving you your final instructions, think of it as a half-time talk before the second half of the greatest game you will ever play. And he starts with, "Do not let your heart be troubled." Listen to his words…

Send me a Text Message!So Jesus tells this story to teach a lesson about prayer.  It is the story of man who has a late night hospitality emergency.  Late night guests have come, but as He and his wife frantically search their cupboards for bread for a late night meal. It's midnight, no convience stores, the only possibility is the next door neighbor.  They always have plenty. So he goes next door...(Bang, Bang, Bang,) nothing...  (Bang, Bang, Bang). "Go away, comes the voice from inside."  "But friend...I need some bread." "Go away, the door is already locked, and my children are here with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything."But the man in need doesn't go away. He keeps knocking, till finally, not because of friendship but because he is annoyinly persistent, the neighbor with plenty gets up and gives what is needed to the neighbor with nothing. This story teaches us about the power of persistant  prayer.  But don't miss the even greater truth. We are not God's needy neighbors, we're his kids.

Send me a Text Message!As quickly as time goes by, if you don't put your heart into the things that matter, you'll miss them! There is a request in Luke 11, for Jesus from a guy who had spent one-on-one time with Jesus, and I think the request is meant to point us to something that matters.  If you miss every other point I make in this episode, write these two down. 1)  If prayer matters this much to Jesus, I want it to matter to me.  So I'm going to start by asking, Jesus teach me that.  Teach me to pray.  Shape my heart so that prayer matters to me like it matters to you. 2) If I want to learn how to pray I need to learn everything I can from Jesus about  prayer. Jesus teach us to pray!

Send me a Text Message!Once when Jesus had been out praying, one of his disciples came to him as he finished and said, "Lord, teach us to pray..." They had been watching Jesus; front-row seats to watch the greatest pray-er who ever prayed. Jesus' habit was to rise early in the morning to talk with His Father.  In the evening He'd often go to the Mount of Olives or some other quiet spot to pray. And don't you suppose that the disciples noticed that when Jesus prayed stuff happened.  Seas calmed.  Dead people get alive.  Bread multiplies.  Wine created. Mountain-top experiences. Stuff like that ever happen when you pray? So it was perhaps understandable, that the only recorded time that the disciples asked Jesus to teach them anything, it was prayer. Teach us to pray!

Send me a Text Message!Our Lent series has carried along a minor theme of trusting God. The major theme was Jesus' last few weeks on earth, the crucifixion, the resurrection and the ascension, but the minor theme has been the question, "Can God be trusted?" I realize most of you listening, believe in Jesus, but do you believe Jesus? Do we trust what he says enough that when he says it, we do it? Do I trust him? I think it's impossible to find the thriving value of every word that comes from the mouth of God if we only listen and learn but never lean in. So this last episode simply asks that question one more time. Do I trust Jesus?

Send me a Text Message!I love to imagine that I was there, in the upper room, in those days right after Jesus went up home. But for a moment I'd like you to imagine you missed it. You weren't there. You didn't join the group. Got distracted. Got scared. Other things were more important. You missed it. What did they have to do in order to receive the promise? Just wait. Be there. 120 waited. They prayed. They didn't have to earn it.  They just had to be there, they just had to join in. See I know there are times when we are called to wrestle in prayer, to agonize in prayer, to battle in prayer. But sometimes, I also think that God just wants us to be there. He wants us to engage with others for Him. But imagine you missed it?  

Send me a Text Message!We celebrate the incarnation at Christmas, resurrection at Easter, but that's only 2/3's of the story at best. Where is Jesus now? After 40 days of post-resurrection, earth-walking, he went up...home. This is the ascension. Can I tell you why the ascension is so important? We need to know who Jesus is now, where Jesus is now, what Jesus is doing now. It's so important because what we need we can't get on our own. Who we need to become we can't become on our own. The ascension tells us that Jesus is who we need now! He not only understands our prayer, he hears our prayers. And he not only hears our prayers, he holds the key to all our prayer's answers, because He went up!

Send me a Text Message!One of Jesus' last words before going up home was the word, "Wait." Now everyone, at some intersection of life will have to learn to wait. Lewis Smedes writes: "Waiting is our destiny as creatures who cannot by themselves bring about what they hope for.  We wait in darkness for a flame we cannot light.  We wait in fear for a happy ending we cannot write.  We wait for a not yet that feels like a not ever.  Waiting is the hardest work of hope." Don't miss that. God's "wait" is a word of hope. When God says, "wait" He's promising you that there will be a tomorrow. God's "Wait!" is a promise of more. And so in this episode, I'm asking you to join me in asking Him...for more!

Send me a Text Message!Before Jesus left his team and went back to his Father in heaven, he gave them a cause, a calling, a great commission. Go and make disciples. Haddon Robinson once wrote, "Somewhere I must find a cause that is greater than myself that is worthy of my life." We deperately need to be committed.  Otherwise we have this awful sense that our lives don't count. We want our lives to count, so Christ offersus a cause.   In John 17:18, Jesus said, "In the same way that You gave Me a mission in the world, I give them a mission in the world."  Just like God sent Jesus on a mission, Jesus is sending us. That's our cause. I call it Grander-Mission Living! Do you have a cause that is worthy of your living and your dying?

Send me a Text Message!As we start to wrap up our Lent Series, we are looking at some moments in the 40 days between Jesus' resurrection and his ascension into heaven. One of those moments, was Peter's campfire encounter with Jesus. In the last episode we set it up with a reminder of Peter's betrayal and the Rooster's notification. In this episode, we're going to the campfire breakfast that Jesus had with Peter and some of his friends. But as we go to breakfast, don't forget that image I left with you. Jesus eyes from the cross, catching Peter's eyes in his denial. And the possibility that the way Jesus looked at Peter when the rooster crowed, was the same way Jesus looked at Peter before the rooster crowed; with love. What if in that glance, Jesus is looking forward to a moment on a beach and He's already imagining his sunrise invitation to...come have breakfast? Maybe it's your invitation too!

Send me a Text Message!At the very heart of this next story, a story that took place after the resurrection and before the ascension, is a breakfast with Jesus. It was a meal around a campfire and a moment of renewal between Peter and Jesus. I think you could say that Jesus never met a meal he didn't like. He just had this way of turning every table into sacred space, every meal into an encounter with God. Is it any wonder that a hallmark of the early church was the practice of hospitality, the sharing of their table? See long before the church had pulpits, she had tables. And the invitation to meet Jesus often started with "Wanna do lunch?" Or in this case breakfast.But before we get to that campfire breakfast, we need to set the stage, put our souls in Peter's sandals and be reminded, that I'm not a loser if Jesus loves me. 

Send me a Text Message!For the next few episodes as we close our our Lent series, we are going to look at a few of Jesus' days between the resurrection and his ascension. In this episode it's that guy who has the nickname that kind of sucked but totally stuck. Doubting Thomas. How would you like to be remembered with that nickname for a couple thousand years? But Thomas' story is an excellent reminder that that quest for faith is sometimes difficult. If you have ever wrestled with doubts, and I have...then Thomas' story will encourage you and remind that...Jesus is ok with your doubts!

Send me a Text Message!From the earliest days of our movement, a greeting arose that was so meaningful. The early Christians greeted each other with the constant reminder that their story was not over and the best was yet to come. The one to initiate the greeting would say, "Christ is risen." The one responding would say, "He is risen indeed." From the very beginning, true Christianity has been a movement of the indeed. He has risen indeed. To those who say that the resurrection is just a metaphor; to those who imagine that after Jesus died, his disciples found  themselves still moved by his life and his teaching and at some point said, "Let's honor his memory by talking about him like he's still alive.  We say, "No he is risen indeed." Resurrection Sunday is an indeed day.

Send me a Text Message!As the story unfolds, it's Saturday. The disciples are in this in-between time; the  time in between hopeless and hopeful.  They don't know what's available so they aren't living like what's available is really available. It's life in the in-between.  Can you relate to that?  As a follower of Jesus do you ever feel like you are living life in the in-between? You're not quite hopeless, but not quite hopeful.  You believe in God, but a vital relationship?  Sometimes you put forth quite a bit of effort to be a good Christian, but it seems like duty and you're not sure God cares.You don't consider your life broken, but on the other hand, you hear these promises about abundant life and you wonder if you're missing something.  Sometimes we wake up to find ourselves in the in-between life and we don't even know how we got there but more than anything else we want to know how to move on. Are you living life in the in-between? 

Send me a Text Message!The cross is the ultimate, blow-out love-burst of God. Think about it. From the eyes of heaven, the resurrection was no big deal. Do you think the angels of heaven  waited with bated breath to see if God could raise Jesus from the dead? Were they surprised that the creator of life could give life to the bringer of life? In heaven's  eyes the resurrection might have been a bit ho-hum. But the cross? "O my God,"they must have whispered in the halls of heaven, will he really do it? Does he love them...all of them so much that he'll climb up on that tree and take all the sin and shame of the world upon himself and experience their loneliness and brokenness. Does he love them that much?And the answer was yes.

Send me a Text Message!Thursday of the last week was the very first communion in the history of the world! So in this episode we have a very simple focus on communion. This mini-drama set in the context of the Passover (a great celebration of deliverance) remembers, celebrates, even revels in the death of Jesus. That's what communion is all about; we proclaim the Lord's death. We celebrate Christ Crucified.  I'll be honest, part of me cringes when I put those three words together. Celebrate  -- Christ -- Crucified.  It is a mysterious wonder that they could be put together and still have meaning. But they do, such a deep meaning that transformed the foundations of reality. Are we ready to celebrate Christ crucified?

Send me a Text Message!Who was Judas? Well he was chosen by Jesus. When Jesus was putting together his inner circle, when he stayed up all night praying, asking the Father who should the twelve be, Judas was in his mind. He must have been trusted at least to some degree by Jesus. I mean he was the treasurer; he was in charge of the team's money.And I believe that Jesus loved Judas. He washed his feet. He showed Judas the full extent of his love. Yet, despite being chosen and trusted and loved by Jesus, Judas betrayed him. How is that possible? How do you hang out with Jesus for three years? See what he did and meet how he healed and listen to the voice that calmed the storm, and heard him teach? How do you meet with face-to-face, sit next to Jesus at the table…and then after all of that turn around and betray Jesus? All I can say is that I don't want to be Judas!

Send me a Text Message!When Jesus died on the cross, the viel in the temple, which kept everyone away from the very holy presence of God, that curtain was torn in two. We've all thought that the message in that moment was "Come. You're invited. Come into God's presence." But what if God tore the curtain in two as a way of saying, "I will not be put in a box. Walls cannot contain me."  That could change everything.Do you understand? Since the resurrection, any place can be a sacred space, because Christ is let loose and His presence brings the sacred to every space He touches. There is no box that can keep God in!

Send me a Text Message!The four gospels are basically biographies  of Jesus, but unlike most biographies you've ever read, the gospels pretty much ignore the first 30 years of Jesus' life. They dive into his last three years, but of his last three years, about 1/3 of the pages of the gospels are dedicated to his last week. Sunday to Sunday. 8 days. Apparently the people who knew him best felt we could not get Jesus if we don't get this week in his life. What happens in these eight days is the hot burning  center of his life. So here is what we are going to do for the last episodes of this Lent-series. Each episode will land on a story, an event, a truth from that day of that week. Which means that maybe, I'll even do In-between Saturday and Resurrection Sunday. If you want Palm Sunday go to our youtube page youtube.com/calvarycwow. That was my message for this weekend. But for Holy Monday...we're talking about the problem with sacred places!

Send me a Text Message!Spread throughout John 14-17 (which begins with the words, "you will have trouble") are these amazing prayer promises that center around the word, "whatever" -- like "Whatever you ask for in my name, God will give it to you." Whatever. Whatever you ask. You're probably thinking, "Wait a minute Dan, we've got to be careful how people take a verse like this. It's like we want to protect God's fragile reputation. We don't want people to have unreasonably high hopes in God. And I know, it's not like life was easy with Jesus. Not every ending was happy. There was trouble, hardship. But let me simply tell you, prayer matters to God. If it didn't matter to God, Jesus wouldn't say, "Whatever you ask." 

Send me a Text Message!You will have trouble! Jesus made it clear that this is normal. You will have trouble  in the world. All kinds of trouble. You're going to go through circumstances that will cause doubt and fear. You will lose friends. The world will hate you and people will persecute you. The enemy of your souls, the prince of this world is coming and there may be opportunities for you to lay down your life for your friends. There's going to be trouble, but listen... We often find trouble just before we get to a breakthrough. Right? It's always darkest before the dawn. Difficult times are a catalyst for spiritual growth. You will have trouble, but...breakthrough is coming! 

Send me a Text Message!We live in neighborhoods filled with people in need of hope. And I believe that somewhere within us is a desire, a stirring to make a hope-filled difference in our neighborhoods, our schools, our workplaces, all throughout our communities. At least in part, I hope that's why you are listening, and I hope that along with that stirring in your heart to make a difference, you have at least a suspicion that you can't do it on your own. That perhaps like the early church we are better together. That's what this episode is all about. I have a deep conviction that not only are we better together, but that actually we cannot accomplish all the dreams on our hearts, if we do not constantly and consistently aim our lives and our churches toward the dream of Christ's heart. What is His dream? Well the dream on Christ's heart is the prayer on his lips!

Send me a Text Message!Years ago, when speaker of the house Sam Rayburn heard he had terminal cancer, he shocked everyone when he announced he was going back to his small town in Bonham, Texas. People said to him: "We've got the finest facilities here in D.C., why go back to that little town?" Rayburn's response came from his deep desire for community. He said, "Because in Bonham, Texas, they know if you're sick, and they care when you die." Perhaps some things are even more important than the finest medical facilities. If no one cares, you're truly alone. So who cares?In this episode we'll start where most good things start, with Jesus. Because the  more we get to know Jesus...the more our hearts get saturated with the undying reality that Jesus Cares. In fact, Jesus not only cares for us, he cares that we care.